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Message by VCSE Project Manager: Difference between revisions
Message by VCSE Project Manager (view source)
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(Created page with ' Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract "sustainable development" and turn it into a reality for all the world's people. Kofi Annan, Se...') |
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Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract "sustainable development" | |||
and turn it into a reality for all the world's people. | |||
'' Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations March 2001'' | |||
Struck by successive food, energy, financial and environmental crises, our economies are now threatened by recession, unemployment, and poverty aggravation, while the cohesion of our societies and the health of our environment are in danger. The culminating global financial crisis, combined with the ongoing environmental crisis, makes painfully clear that the economic and social development model we have adopted in recent decades comes at an extraordinarily high social and environmental cost. Today, more than ever, we need to shift the focus to the real economy, the people and our environment. The European Union is playing a leading role in promoting a more sustainable way of doing business. The successful transition to a sustainable development model requires the active involvement and participation of the public, which in turn presupposes well-informed citizens. Academic Institutions can play an important role in transferring accurate and reliable information on all aspects of the complex issue of sustainable development as well as in initiating and coordinating the dialog among the various key players. | Struck by successive food, energy, financial and environmental crises, our economies are now threatened by recession, unemployment, and poverty aggravation, while the cohesion of our societies and the health of our environment are in danger. The culminating global financial crisis, combined with the ongoing environmental crisis, makes painfully clear that the economic and social development model we have adopted in recent decades comes at an extraordinarily high social and environmental cost. Today, more than ever, we need to shift the focus to the real economy, the people and our environment. The European Union is playing a leading role in promoting a more sustainable way of doing business. The successful transition to a sustainable development model requires the active involvement and participation of the public, which in turn presupposes well-informed citizens. Academic Institutions can play an important role in transferring accurate and reliable information on all aspects of the complex issue of sustainable development as well as in initiating and coordinating the dialog among the various key players. | ||